Ariadne's Atelier { May Madness! CHALLENGE COMPLETED }

Here is an opening post with nothing in it. There might be a loose list of "contents" one day, but that day is not today. It's rumoured there might be a respectable header at some stage, but we can't comment on that. Our people can, however, confirm that there will be no tables containing horse stats. Ever.

JANUARY 27

SEASON END; FORUM END; MANY ENDS

So.. where to begin. Or maybe I shouldn't begin? I do have a few things I want to get off my chest but maybe it's best I don't say anything.

Yes. Let's do that.

STARTING WITH

THE SHOW JUMPING TEAM

agatha and poquelin

Lowmax royalty and sentimental favourites, Agatha and Poquelin, qualified for and competed in their first ever international Grand Prix, and were tested against some of the biggest names on the show jumping scene.

(like, seriously)

With 3.75 points between first and sixth and a crap luck score, Agatha had never been so satisfied to finish off the podium, nor prouder of her wonky, disgruntled gelding.

poquelin finishes the season with 169 points.

archie and speakeasy

Prior to RHI, new prospect Speakeasy had a handful of outings under his belt, but these were minor, local meets. An outing at Roaring Heights was an opportunity to expose the youngster to a proper show environment, to let him experience the hustle and bustle he'd have to become acclimatised to in order to have a full career.

It wasn't their smoothest performance- Zee nearly unseated Archie several times in the pre-round canter after, ah, taking offence to a number of items in the ring- and they didn't come home with a ribbon, finishing in seventh. But they did just that: finish. Springy, skittery and sideways, at times, but they finished, and finished clear. As far as Archie was concerned, their outing at Roaring Heights was a success,

zee finishes the season with 37 points.

dot and white rabbit

The usual case of pre-round nerves took hold of Dottie before her ride, and, as usual, they were ill-founded. She and Rabbit cruised through the course for an easy second place, losing out only on time in the jump-off.

Her peers and colleagues would later congratulate Dot on the way she guided her horse around the ring, but she felt she had little to do with it. The truth was, Rabbit was the one who had looked after her. He always looked after her. So, rather than joining the others for lunch, she sat with her sandwich and iced coffee in the stabling, and kept her horse company until his paddock mate returned.

rabbit finishes the season with 64 points.

rdec gotica

This was the first time the Lomax show jumping team has attended an event without Gotica in the lineup and she herself seemed to comprehend the situation, watching with interested ears from her box as the truck was loaded without her.

She started a well-earned break early, but will return to competition next season.

gotica finishes the season with 140 points.

THREE DAY EVENTING TEAM

caleb and maroussia

Caleb and Maroussia withdrew from the Texas Rose Horse Trials after the cross country phase.

Though the vet cleared her before and after the cross country, Cal’s been feeling uneasy. He doesn’t say anything, of course, but he’s often in her stall, massaging those problem muscles, and comes off overly sensitive when the subject is brought up.

He doesn’t want to acknowledge it- no rider ever wants to- but it might be time to think long and hard about her future as a competitor.

marou finishes the season with 123 points.

caleb and high street hf

On the other side of the coin: Caleb took home a blue ribbon in the advanced class on board High Street HF.

Streets is very much a horse after Caleb’s own heart- often goofy, sometimes touchy, but hard-working and honest as the day is long. With a partnership spanning a handful of years, the pair have formed a solid bond and ordinarily, a victory- and a classy performance, at that- would have him in high spirits. But with Marou's withdrawal and "the R-word" hanging over his head, it was bittersweet at best.

streets finishes the season with 111 points.

micah and wrngs lucianna

Residing at Lowmax on "campaign-board" as a favour to friend Che Marshall, Lucianna was the third horse sent to Texas- for her first competition since joining the team. Though not the bravest among horses, she is among the most trusting, and will follow where her rider leads if they have the confidence to convince her.

.. so we weren't really worried, because no one ever accused Micah Krumm of lacking confidence.

"She 'looked' at some of the fences and hesitated on approach a few times, but she never did anything. After the first couple- and after a gallop- she began to loosen up and enjoy herself. You could tell she was happy."

luce finishes the season with 87 points. [in eventing]

AND FINALLY

a vertical and narrow addition, just to mess with those of you who have OCD

nikolaj and wec tamarillo n' tanqueray

Though chiefly campaigned by head trainer, Yury Malkinov, his man-bun sporting son, Nikolaj, has been stepping in here and there to assist with Tessa's training, climbing into her saddle whilst Yury coaches from the ground. As is oft to happen when one spends even paltry amounts of time with Tessa, Nikolaj has developed a fondness for our sweet little boarder... which lead to him leaping at the opportunity to ride her at Deodoro last year.

... well, okay, he didn't leap, but he was considerably less languid than usual. Considerably less.

The pair took third place in the Intermediare II class (an admirable effort in the face of hungry mosquitoes, bassy beach music, and the overwhelmingly distasteful decorations)

tessa finishes the season with 145 points.

ON CLOSING.

I kind of want to tag everyone who contributed to my having these horses but I feel like that could be annoying. So, too bad! Come and find them yourself, guys. PS. I love you; thank you for trusting me with your darlings.

PPS. SUCK IT, MARK UP.

Eeep can I comment? I hope so, because I couldn't very well scroll on by without saying how lovely this update is! It's so neat how you've set up where everyone is, their competition standings and some plans for next season, who needs tables to be organised? Desperately looking forward to your updates in the future, I love hearing about life at Lowmax, really feel like I know your characters and their horses. You masterful storyteller you!

I like your introduction it's nice to see a blog that doesn't start with a table (guilty!) I think it's easier to use one when you have a large amount of horses, but I enjoy personal introductions much more and getting to know the horses with their riders.

Here is an opening post with nothing in it. There might be a loose list of "contents" one day, but that day is not today. It's rumoured there might be a respectable header at some stage, but we can't comment on those. Our people can, however, confirm that there will be no tables containing horse stats. Ever.

First of all, this opening post is very likely the best one I've seen here by far ahahah – I love it! Secondly, I'm so happy to see you and your amazing album here, eeek the first post was already fantastic, can't wait to see more! (my longer comments are still work in progress, can't really compete against you haha)

@Rosalie-Clarke - You're welcome in my album any time, okay? You never fail to make me smile. I'm absurdly pleased that the place and the characters are coming alive for you (that's like hitting the writer jackpot) and I hope I can delight you when I say that I intend to focus more on writing this year, producing shorts that snapshot their lives and- fingers crossed- getting out that rotten next chapter. But I'll say not another word. Thank you for your comment, Rosalie; I appreciate the encouragment. ^.^@Effie-Phoenix - Thanks, Effie! But I'm afraid I have to be honest with you: those pictures are very (very) minimally edited- I pretty much just added reins/stirrups, touched up the lighting, added the B/W filter, and blurred where necessary. I get bored with PS too quickly to take it any further.@Johanna-Masters - Nothing wrong with tables! If it works for you, all the power, I say. Me, I'm just more inclined to the free-flowing, spontaneous type of thing. More personal, as you say... and I have always liked to do differently to everyone else. @Zinnia-Arvi - Thanks! I agree; black and white pictures have a special beauty about them. They have a gravity you don't get with colour. c:@Lidija-Rotherford - You're beautiful. @Constantine-Vale - Constantine! Hey! Thank you for your lovely comments, as usual. As you know, Rabbit has had an exceedingly fortuitous first season (ie: insanely good luck) but more to the point, he's worked his damn way into my heart and I simply adore having him in my game. He makes the cutest faces and I just love photographing him. He also has his own fan club! Kind of. Ask @Chelsea-Montgomery about that. @Luna-Andrews - Oh, that. I couldn't think of anything to write or otherwise put there and I wanted to post my photos right now so... yeah. Yeah. Anyway, I am likewise happy to see you in here! Now get out and go make some more beautiful pictures of Finn horses and the Finnish countryside. @Merida-Dahmer - I'll check if he's down for that. @Bree-Asgard I'm flattered! Also in disbelief that my barely-touched photos and clumsy stories could have that effect, but still flattered!@Katherine-Star-Ackles I'm glad you think so!

APRIL 30

summer snaps.

A boring, borderline-necessary "I'm-not-dead" update.

I wouldn't bother reminding you, if not for the fact I acquired new horses earlier in the year and feel a moral obligation to their creators. I still love them, I promise. As proof of this sentiment, please accept a small snapshot. It falls short in comparison to the ideas I had but... it's here nonetheless. Sorry for being awful / thank you for being cool.

HIGH SUMMER | Maisie, Qora, Ibis

Mid-July: the mountain pastures are overgrown and the air is warm and dry, laced with traces of dust and a slight sweetness. Three of our residents have been captured enjoying a brief summer spell in the high country: MSE Starless Dark and Duval's Ibis happily hang back, while Northfield Changeling chooses to investigate the intruding photographer... presumably to check hands for treats.

AT EASE | AJ

With his western roots, look-at-me colouring and chilled out demeanour, CSR Golden Peppy doesn't exactly "blend in" among Lowmax' other residents. The turn of events which led him to our doors is by no means a long story, but it is better reserved for another occasion. Until then, we leave you with this snap of unassuming AJ, relaxing in the glow of a summer evening.

So, um... that's it for now. A large photo set is on its way- I can promise that, too- it's just been... hampered over the last few months. The ideas are there: it's the execution I'm struggling with.

I'll level with you, EC. I'm too tired for much these days.

Anyway. I intend to introduce each horse/pony properly at some point, but I'll briefly mention that they are bred by @Eowyn-Vance, @Aylet-Schrödinger, @Jasmin-Mikaelson and @Cole-Tieman respectively, and that I feel so privileged to have them that it's almost embarrassing. I know I thanked each of you [relentlessly], but seriously... thank you again. You each did a marvellous job.

@Luna-AndrewsYou're amazing. To be honest the only thing "special" about that update was the fact it even appeared. I hate to do such lacklustre things but sometimes... sometimes you feel terrible for not showing off the horses some lovely members made for you, so you just shove together what you can... and try to ignore those crazy perfectionist feelings making you antsy. Not that I would know anything about that.
Anyway: greetings to you, too! And today, all the way from Australia's southwest coast. There's no snow, but there's frost on the grass in the mornings and fog in the valleys, and over the harbour. It's the perfect time of year in this part, but I'd happily go back to Finland tomorrow if I could. It's so lovely to hear from you. Next time, though, we must exchange greetings in Finnish. I will be able to learn some new words and you will be able to have a good laugh.

@Lidija-Rotherford Thanks, Lidija. I appreciate the encouragement, really. I'm mostly bothered, I think, because I don't like to do anything half-heartedly, but in this case I felt like it was more important to get it out than to get it right. I dropped my standards and that feels yucky. But enough of that! I'm glad you say this:

And no worries with making a huge update, little by little we're still enjoying ourselves!

because...

MAY 1

MAY MADNESS, DAY 1

But Ariadne, it's supposed to be March madness. Not anymore! After being annoyed with myself on account of my inactivity, I set myself a challenge: to post a daily update for the entire month of May. Daily. As in, every day. I decided this just yesterday! And I've planned nothing. That's the best way to do something, right? Without planning? Yes. Of course. This cannot possibly fail.

... I'm going to last, like, a week. But who cares! LET'S DO THIS.

PORTRAIT | White Rabbit

Cheating a bit to start: I made this photograph of Rabbit when I first bred him and released it exclusively to @Holden-Guinness and @Constantine-Vale, the owners of his sire and dam respectively, as well as the single member of Rabbit's fan club (you know who you are.)

I never made a proper intro for Rabbit, so let me tell you a little more about him. Important stuff, like how, as a foal, people laughed at him on account of his hilariously long ears- ears he's still not quite grown into fully- and how he has a reputation for being calm and gentle, for being lazy as hell on the flat (requires the constant squeeze squeeze of legs or nudge nudge of feet to keep him moving at a consistent rhythm) and for his almost comical objection to baths, hoses, sponges, or otherwise running water-

- okay, okay. Serious face.

Rabbit is a purebred Holsteiner gelding sired by SSE Casinetto and out of AW Husaria, and as such receives a +14 bonus in show jumping. At the time of my posting this, Rabbit has been in my game a little over a year. He's competing at Preliminary level, has 90 points on the SJ leader board, and has accumulated just over $8,000 in winnings. Fun stat for nerds: of 17 show entries, he's unplaced five times, which equates to a success rate of about 70%. That was an A- or a B+ when I was at school. #mathisfun!
Story wise, Rabbit is one of the older horses at Lowmax, in his late teens (15+) when the story is taking place. He's seen a few things, been a few places, grown a brain, that kind of thing. His levelheadedness has made him an ideal partner for one of the stable's young riders, Dorothy "Dot" Lawley, who, while in possession of many promising qualities- her light seat, soft hands, and quiet determination, to name a few- lacks experience at the more serious levels of competition, and consequently, the confidence. This is where Rabbit's age and experience proves an advantage- and I'll stop there, because I don't believe in spoiling stories.

I'm going to leave it here and it's definitely not because I lost my glasses and it's hard to write without them and save the other stories I have about Rabbit for another time. I hope you enjoyed reading a little more about him! He's one of my favourites, for sure, and there's a possibility you'll see him again in the course of the month.

Holy crap are we in for a ride - an update a day!? It's like my prayers have been answered, a whole months worth of Lomax shenanigans, yes!

I love rabbit and his flopsy ears, how could anyone laugh at him? I'm getting flashes of the beginning of Dumbo now He's got such gentle features, his portrait is perfect, just look at his little face sjhdfskjm indecipherable cooing. Oh yeah, I still really love that one with him and Dot after their round it just gave me all the feels.

Anyway I'll just join the rest of the happy campers here and wait for tomorrow. waits patiently...